That's a very long list! Can you guess what creature on this list is most feared by my party? It isn't a dragon, vampire, golem or giant... it's the fearsome stirges! Those little bloodsuckers can send my level 8 characters running for the hills!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

When we last left our heroes, they found themselves trapped in a room located in the upper regions of the castle. Not knowing what else to do, and very much needing to do so, they wisely chose to take a long rest. However, before they could finish this rest they heard a knock on the door. Approaching the door quickly yet cautiously, Dain, Oloril, and Lucien flung open the door, grabbed the man who stood behind, covered his mouth, and yanked him inside. As quietly as possible, they closed the door and turned their attention to the cultist who now lay in their grasp.

Before and needing to take any further course of action, the group quickly realized that their new prisoner was none other than a disguised Bardu! The cleric informed them that he had traveled a great distance to ensure the party's safety. He also communicated that he learned the location of the treasure and, potentially, a wyvern stable.

The group completed their long rest and proceeded downward into the underground tunnels of the floating structure in hopes of finding the cultists' treasure. The winding subterranean tunnels through which they walked appeared to consist of a strange amber-like substance. Within the walls they could see all manner of things trapped inside. They did not have to walk much further before they entered a large room which held the treasure they sought. However, atop the treasure sat a great red dragon!

Negotiating with the dragon soon proved futile, and the party found themselves engaged with their greatest foe yet. The battle raged. Lucien climbed atop the dragon, vicously and repeatedly bashing it on the head. Dain, Mullyn, and Oloril, in the meantime, attacked it from the ground. The dragon lashed out with his great claws and spat out his fiery breath. The situation began to seem hopeless causing even Lucien and to cry out in despair to his god. Although each of our heroes did their best, each one began to succumb to their battle wounds falling senseless to the ground.

Then, at just the right moment, their old ally Kaelthiros, made a much needed appearance. Notching a magical red arrow from his quiver, their Elven friend drew back his bow, and left the arrow fly. The arrow sank a deep into the enemy's draconic flesh, causing the crimson beast to flee in terror.

Having a small respite from any immediate danger, Kaelthiros struggled to revive and mend as many of his comrades as he could. Sadly, there had been some permanent loss. Bardu was dead - and Lucien had lost the lower part of his left leg. As the party revived and regained their bearings, minus Bardu of course, they greeted the elf with surprising eagerness.

Greetings and explanations would have to wait, however. For now they had perhaps only minutes until the next wave of enemies overtook them. In the minutes that followed, Dain, Nulara, and Oloril gathered what they thought useful from the horde of treasure. At the same time, Kaelthiros tended to Lucien as the mourning the paladin tended to the body of the fallen cleric. Having done that as much as they could in a short amount of time, the party sought the quickest way of escape. However, escape would not come.

Over time, the room quickly filled with all manner of foes - kobolds, giant ogres, and flying cultists. Mullyn cast his spells, Dain swung his sword, Nulara parried, and Lucien flung his staff. At times, the battle seemed utterly hopeless - so much so that even the ever-confident Kaelthiros cried out to Bahamut, offering up his life if he could only take on his true dragon form to spare the lives of his allies. But it up as though Bahamut did not grant is request, the party did manage to eliminate all their foes - though they themselves barely remained standing.

Oloril, during the chaos, managed off to escape the room and reach the upper levels of the castle in hopes of gaining further information and additional options. Once above, he saw none other than Rezmir! After battling ogres and firing ballistae, the dwarf evaded enemy grasp and made his way back to his comrades.

And so there the party stood, in the treasure room, a strange and eerie silence surrounding them . . .

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

And
so it was that our heroes yet again entered the mysterious hunting
lodge. They made their way cautiously through the unexplored areas
until they happened upon a tapestry. Lucien, taking interest in the
artistry, leaned into the tapestry to take a closer look. However, as
he leaned forward, he fell into the tapestry and disappeared. Another
magicked work of art! The others, not wanting to lose their friend,
followed Lucien into the tapestry. Well, actually, Nulara stayed to
fight an enchanted set of armor before deciding it best to follow
suit.After
a quick reorientation and some moments to observe their surroundings more carefully, the dauntless adventures realized that they were now
miles away from the lodge. At least they were still in the same plane
of existence! So, wearily, with the grudge still very much alive
between the two dwarves, the group drudged back toward the lodge.

For
the third time now, the party arrived at the lodge. This time they
explored the remaining areas only to be apprehended by cultists. The
cultists took the party to their leader, Talis, who proposed a truce
be made between them due to their common interests. She offered to tell them the location of the cult's treasure in exchange for the elimination
of her competitor, Rezmir.

The
terms seemed agreeable, even to Lucien. In fact, thanks to insightful
questions asked by Oloril, the paladin had quite a good conversation
with the cult leader. The two did share the common goal of restoring
order and peace to the world. The means by which each hoped to
achieve this goal, however, differed drastically. Still, Lucien felt
more than a touch of compassion for Talis. Perhaps even she could be
redeemed.

They
spent that night at the lodge – guests of the cultists. In the
morning they would leave for their destination, a floating castle in
they sky within the town of Parnast. A castle that housed both the
cult's treasure and the nefarious Rezmir.And
so it came to pass, that the party reached the town of Parnast and
made their way onto the floating castle. Their identity seemed to
remain hidden for they carried with them a banner from Talis. When
confronted, all but Lucien spoke the phrase that was taught them -
“Hail, Tiamat, our mother and our strength!” Behaving thusly, no
one seemed to find their presence unusual.After
some time, the castle took off and began flying though the air
towards an unknown destination. Unhindered, the party explored and
finally came upon a room in which they found two wizards.
Unfortunately, one of them immediately recognized Nulara! In the
vicious battle that ensued, one of the wizards was felled and the
other – the one who recognized Nulara - escaped by flying away
through a secret door. Surely the party's presence would be given up.
Certainly they were no longer safe! Worn and ragged from combat, our
heroes needed to find a way to prepare what would come next . . .

Once inside the lodge, the party made it's way through several
traps and setbacks. They soon discovered a large painting of a white
stag on the far wall of one of the rooms. Upon closer inspection, it
was quickly identified as a magical painting. However, it was too
late for Oloril. The poor dwarf had already been charmed by the
insidious work of art. He became convinced that this “white stag”
was out in the mountains somewhere and needed to be destroyed. Lucien
attempted to dissuade him by demonstrating that last time they
encountered a stag it was (or at least lead the way to) a dragon of
the same color. A white stag could mean a white dragon.
Unfortunately, this only fueled the fighter's resolve. If it was a
white dragon then it certainly had to go!

Without much ado, Oloril waltzed right out of the lodge and
towards the alleged mountainous home of the white dragon. The party
followed the dwarf, worried for his safety. Lost and worn, they
wandered on and on towards the mountains. At one point Dain, in
frustration, insulted Oloril's character. Oloril's response, of
course, was to stubbornly refuse to converse with his mentor until an
acceptable apology was offered (which would not happen during this
part of the story). Finally, having enough of the nonsense, Mullyn
began creating illusory “stag footprints” leading back to the
general direction of the lodge so that Oloril would turn around. This
worked as intended!

During a rest on the return trip, Nulara encountered a group of
elves as she was gathering berries. They offered to serve as an
escort back to the lodge if the party agreed to assist them in
conquering a group of local gnolls. The party did so without
hesitation, killing several dozen of the creatures. Thankful, and
bound by their agreement, the elves escorted the party back to the
lodge.